Students’ J’khand trip falls flat as dept refuses to pay

the goan I network

PANAJI

Buoyed by the prospects of enjoying an outstation excursion dozens of undergraduate and post-graduate students from colleges across Goa had registered for the trip to Jharkhand under the ‘Ek Bharat, Shresht Bharat’ programme but were forced to opt out after the Directorate of Higher Education refused to foot their travel bills.  

In yet another round of firing circulars amid a flurry of such sent to institutions in the current academic year, the Prasad Lolyenkar-headed DHE had sent out a missive to Colleges to send a list of students who volunteer to travel to Jharkhand and participate in the Centre’s pet project (Ek Bharat, Shrest Bharat) in late November.  

Under the programme States have been paired with one another and educational institutions have been directed to conduct programmes which could potentially lead to the two States involved fusing their diverse cultures.  

Goa has been paired with Jharkhand and through a circular the DHE had asked heads of colleges to draw up a list of students who will volunteer to travel to that State. All was well for a couple of weeks after the circular was issued but what put paid to the students’ enthusiasm to make the trip, visible from the higher than expected volunteer registrations for the trip was the DHE’s refusal to fund the travel costs.  

College administrations, meanwhile, were hard-pressed to organise the students and arrange the trip, but they too opted out after the DHE washed its hands off and refused to resolve the funding for the trip.  

In fact the DHE in subsequent communications also asked heads of Colleges that the students themselves will have to foot the bill of the travel to Jharkhand. It was then that all of the students who registered for the trip backed off.  THE CIRCULAR

Colleges asked to send a list  of students who would volunteer to travel to Jharkhand and participate in the  Centre’s pet project (Ek Bharat, Shrest Bharat) in late November

THE PROGRAMME

States have been paired with one another and  educational institutions have been directed to conduct programmes which  could potentially lead to the two States involved fusing their diverse  cultures.  Goa has been paired with Jharkhand. 

THE MONEY TANGLE

All was well for a couple of weeks  after the circular was issued but what put paid to the students’  enthusiasm to make the trip, visible from the higher than expected  volunteer registrations for the trip was the DHE’s refusal to fund the  travel costs  

A CLUB INSTEAD

In another circular, Principals have now been told to set up an ‘Ek  Bharat, Shrest Bharat’ club and to furnish a list of programmes they  intend to conduct as part of activity